Chapter 1

Maya woke with a migraine, she groaned loudly and turned to the side. She squinted her eyes at the brightness of the light streaming through the window. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock hung at the far side of the wall.

7:15

She yawned and tried to remember her schedule for today when her eyes ran over the digits on the clock again, and then it hit her, 

"Shit!" She cursed, flying from the bed and making a mad dash to the bathroom, she hadn't even walked a few feet when her legs tangled with something and she tripped on the floor, smacking her nose against the wooden planks.

"Ow..." She winced, holding her nose as she sat up slowly. She heard grumbling and her eyes fell on Gabrielle lying comfortably on the floor.

"You bitch!" Maya yelled, smacking her friend hard on the ass, "Why the fuck are you even sleeping on the floor?"

The dark-skinned girl barely registered the hit, instead muttering, "I dunno."

She rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore her, and stood on her feet. When she got to the bathroom, she made quick work of undressing and doing her morning routine.

She rushed to her wardrobe, her eyes searching frantically for something suitable to wear, glancing at the clock, a frustrated groan ripped from her lips, 

7:25

"What are you doing?" Gabrielle's drowsy voice piped, standing up from the floor to plop on top of the bed.

"I have a class." She answered, her hands grabbing a mini blue floral sundress with spaghetti straps, Maya took a denim jacket as a precaution, she didn't want to violate the school's dress conduct on her first day,

"So?" Her friend drawled again and Maya gave her an incredulous look. 

"It's Psychology, Gab," She groaned tiredly, "Professor Davis' course!"

"Oh?"

"And I'm late!"

"Ah!"

"Fuck you!" Maya threw a book at the girl but she simply giggled waving a hand at her, 

"Relax babe, you're fretting too much."

Maya groaned again, placing a hand on her forehead. Her head was pounding like crazy, she couldn't deal with Gabrielle's antics right now. She had bigger problems to worry over, 

Like how the heck she was going to drive to school when she had a nasty hangover?

Maya debated on using the bus instead and groaned at the prospect, she could feel her headache getting worse as she picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Bye Gab, I'll call you later. Have a good day," Maya shot her one last smile before exiting the room and strolling directly into the kitchen.

Their apartment wasn't big but it suited both of them well, and Maya enjoyed the small space between the rooms, especially since it granted her easy access to wherever she was going.

As she opened the fridge, a loud honk pierced the air, startling her enough to make her jump and slam the door shut, earning a sharp pain in her head.

"Bitchhh! You better come out right now, we're late as hell."

She had to resist rolling her eyes, even if she badly wanted to, and grabbed an apple from the counter. Maya raced to the front door, shutting it behind her when she was out and waving at her other best friend, 

Jason didn't return the action, instead narrowing his eyes at her,

"You're practically a lifesaver, you know?" She jumped into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt, "I was about to take the bus." 

Jason scoffed but didn't look at her, his blue eyes focused on the rearview mirror as he backed out of their driveway, 

"I knew you would likely be suffering from a shitty hangover after last night, here," He handed her a styrofoam cup and she accepted it gladly, taking a large gulp, an action she instantly regretted, 

Maya's face contorted in disgust, "Eww!" She grimaced, "What is that?!" She held it out from her reach and Jason laughed.

"It's green tea," He explained patiently, "It helps with the headache." Maya wrinkled her nose but sipped it anyways. It tasted disgusting, more like lukewarm sludge than tea.

"You missed out, by the way." She told him after gulping down half the cup.

"I doubt it," His face was still turned towards the road but she could see the shit-eating grin on his face and a gasp escaped from her mouth, 

"You didn't!" 

His smirk widened and she slapped his arm playfully, glaring at him when he chuckled devilishly, 

"I thought you said it was only a date," She mimicked his voice and he smirked, 

"We weren't exactly being coy," He drawled and she shook her head, 

What did she expect from him? This was Jason after all.

"At least, tell me he was a good fuck." She told him, taking a generous bite out of her apple.

She saw his cheeks coloring and almost choked on the fruit when he responded, 

"Oh, he was more than good." 

She sighed, suddenly feeling wistful, "Good for you, at least one of us is having their sexual fantasies fulfilled." She took an angry bite and Jason laughed, 

"Oh Sweetie, I'm sure your dream guy is on his way," She huffed at that, "Maybe you aren't looking closely."

She waved his words away, "Whatever, I'm more worried about taking Professor Davis' class again."

As if a switch had been flipped, Jason's enthusiastic mood faded and his face hardened slightly, 

"I still don't understand why we have to take psychology again this semester."

Maya shrugged, her fingers playing with the sleeves of her jacket, "I have a stinking feeling Davis is pulling this one so she can torture us once more."

Jason laughed at that, "Yeah, you have a point though." A groan escaped from his lips and he tightened his hold on the wheel, "I wish it wasn't a required course then I would've considered skipping her entire class."

"And show up during tests and exams only?"

"Yeah."

"You'd fail terribly."

They both chuckled at her comment, but there was also a somber tone to their laughter. Even Maya's mood began to change as they drove further downtown and she wondered, not for the first time, how they were going to survive Davis for another semester.

They arrived at the campus in a short while, the sun peeking above the horizon and illuminating its beauty. Few people were milling around outside. Maya guessed most of them had probably gone inside already, ready to get started on their classes. 

Her thumb pressed the power button on her phone and the screen lit up, she scanned the time and swallowed tightly,

7:49

They had approximately two minutes before the lecture began and knowing the strict professor, she would probably be in the hall already, watching each student walk in with a haughty smile on her eagle-like face and Maya dreaded having her wrath directed towards the two of them.

"Let's go, babe." Jason gave her a quick smile before killing the engine. 

She hadn't even noticed when he parked. They hurried out of the car, slammed the doors close simultaneously, and walked into the large building. The faculty of Psychology was the largest in the university, a huge white building that resembled a Greek temple, it consisted of a total of ten floors and a dome-like structure at the top which housed the professors' offices and meeting rooms. Maya had often wondered why the school spent so much money on a single building, it was only when she realized how reputed the school was for its psychology degree, that she understood.

They headed straight toward the entrance. The walk to the auditorium was short and soon, they were inside the hall. Maya frowned upon entering, she noticed two things; first, the hall wasn't packed with students, which wasn't strange at all, she wasn't the only one with a strong dislike for Davis. Speaking of the devil, she wasn't present in the hall, 

Normally she would be occupying the office chair in front of the auditorium, casting everyone judgy looks as they shuffled through the hallway in search of seats, but today, it seemed like Davis had chosen to leave early. That or she didn't show up at all.

"Maybe her car broke down," Jason muttered, almost as if he was hearing her thoughts, 

"Maybe." She repeated but doubted it. The professor was never late for any of her classes. There was a strong emphasis on the never, 

"Let's go sit at the back, I'm afraid if she takes one look at my face, she would know I've been drinking." 

Jason gave her an incredulous look but followed her, she ended up choosing the middle row and crossed her fingers that Davis wouldn't choose to patrol the hall today,

Jason took his seat next to Maya and she leaned her head onto his shoulder, her eyes scanning the crowd, 

"They're less than normal." She pointed out and Jason hummed in agreement, 

"Probably decided to indirectly flip the finger at Davis."

A smile pulled at her lips and she felt like shutting her eyes, Jason was right, the green tea had worked like magic. She could barely feel the pounding discomfort in her head, instead, it had dulled to a silent buzzing sound.

She'd almost closed her lids when a breathless voice called out, 

"Is this seat taken?"

She felt Jason twist his head to the side and she did the same, eyeing the person who'd interrupted her rest, 

Maya arched a brow when her gaze landed on the boy, he had chestnut brown hair falling messily over his forehead and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing faded blue jeans paired with a black t-shirt that looked two sizes too small, a black backpack hanging off his shoulders, and a grey beanie covering his head. His cheeks were rosy and Maya guessed he'd run all the way here,

"Of course, you can." Jason purred seductively and she turned to give him a questioning look, 

'Seriously?' She mouthed.

'What? He's cute.' He mouthed back and she rolled her eyes and placed her head back on his shoulders.

From the corner of her eye, Maya watched as the blue-eyed stranger took out a laptop from his backpack and placed it on his lap. He looked over at her again and grinned before turning back to his device, a pen resting between his fingers.

She ignored his presence altogether, her eyes darting to the fall on the far corner of the room

It was exactly eight, which meant the professor was late.

Maya could already see some of the students' uneasiness as they waited, Jason had found a way to distract himself, his attention completely focused on the device in his hands and blue eyes, well he was scrolling on his laptop.

"I don't think Professor Davis' car broke down." She said loudly, gaining the attention of both boys seated by her side, 

"Professor Davis?" Blue-eyes asked brows furrowing in what she suspected was confusion.

"Yeah, our psychology professor," Shd said slowly, giving the boy an incredulous look. He didn't even know the name of the professor of the course he was offering.

Students these days.

"Uh, No." The boy said, turning his laptop in her direction. "Our Professor is Doctor Grey," He pointed to the computer screen.

Maya's head shot up instantly and she grabbed the laptop from the boy's grasp, her eyes widening in shock when she saw that he was indeed saying the truth.

"Well, shit." She heard Jason mutter over her shoulder.

"Didn't you read the overview sent to you?" The boy asked curiously and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

The truth was, she didn't. Maya had assumed that it would be the same thing Davis sent to them last year and completely ignored it. It seemed she wasn't the only one, Jason had a regretful look on his face as well.

However, blue-eyes simply smiled at us, "Don't worry, there's really nothing to it. Just a brief description of who the professor is and what to expect in his class."

Jason grabbed the laptop from her, his eyes hastily scanning over the screen and he read aloud, "Doctor Alexander Grey, department of psychology, has a Ph.D. in clinical and Biopsychology." He let out a low whistle at that and even Maya raised an eyebrow, 

He must be a fucking genius to have pursued courses that difficult, She theorized.  

"Extremely thorough in his duties and research, previously taught at Stanford University and was recently offered a spot in UMass Amherst," Jason's eyes grew bigger and she tried to see what it was about, " You won't believe it but he's only thirty-three years." 

"That's a lot of achievement for someone that young." Maya pointed out and both boys nodded in agreement.

"This only means one thing, though…" Jason said as he handed the laptop back to blue-eyes.

"What's that?" Blue-eyes asked.

"We're stuck with a grumpy bachelor for the rest of this semester."

She and blue-eyes chuckled and she eyed him curiously, 

"Well, better he than Davis am I right?" He said, a small smile still on his lips.

Jason simply shrugged, "We'll see. I hope he's an eye candy, I'd hate to be stuck with someone boring."

"You took psychology in second year too?" Maya butted in, disregarding Jason's offended look.

Blue-eyes nodded smiling but she could tell it wasn't genuine this time, "You don't know me?"

She shook her head and his lips pulled into a frown.

"I'm Derek. Derek Chadwick."

She pretended to think about the name, it sounded familiar but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. 

"It's fine," He said quickly when he noticed her hesitation, "You were never the type to pay attention to people anyways."

She winced at the statement and offered him an apologetic look, "I'm Maya." She said instead and he nodded, 

"I know." 

She couldn't help but feel like she'd disappointed him somewhat and the look on Jason's face wasn't helping either. So she took out her phone and began to scroll through her social media accounts, looking for something to distract herself from whatever awkward moment she'd caused for the pair sitting next to her. 

About fifteen or so minutes passed and Doctor Grey was still absent, by this time, a few people had already begun to leave the hall while the others who stayed behind, were talking amongst themselves, some had plugged in their earphones and were bobbing their heads lightly, others were walking around aimlessly. Maya could practically feel the tension rising as the time ticked by.

"What kind of person comes late on his first day of class?" Derek's voice piped up, a frown contorting his face.

Jason scoffed, his eyes closed, his body leaning against the chair, "Doctor Grey apparently."

Maya was about to continue her game when the hall suddenly fell quiet, the chatter died down and everyone stopped their movements, their gazes shifting toward the door at the entrance.

"Holy shit." Someone muttered under their breath and Maya's jaw dropped to the floor. She knew she was staring, but there was no denying the fact that she couldn't stop, and judging by how many pairs of eyes had locked onto the professor at once, he probably thought so as well.

The man standing in front of the doors was a sight to behold, with dark wavy hair and sharp, piercing eyes framed by a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, he had an intimidating air around him and it wasn't because of his muscular stature or the way his stubbled jaw ticked ever so slightly as he scanned the room, but the fact that he was currently wearing a black suit jacket with a white dress shirt underneath it, tie neatly knotted around his neck, and a pair of khakis over polished loafers. He looked like the picture of professional.

Maya was too far to discern his eye color but she could imagine it was dark, the color of her favorite type of coffee, she was sure one look from those orbs would send you running for the hills but the thought of him staring at her, it made her stomach churn.

His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked to the lectern that had been set up in the center of the hall, a large file folder tucked under his arm.

"I apologize for my tardiness." His deep voice reverberated and they sounded sincere enough.

But something hold Maya that this man was not sorry at all.

"My name is Doctor Alexander Grey but you can call me Professor Grey." He pushed the bridge of his glasses further up his nose, looking at each student in turn. "We only have a few minutes before this class will be over so I'll try and rush things."

He turned to the large screen behind him and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard before placing his hands on the desk in front of him, eyes flitting across the screen and the projector on the other end. The professor began explaining the outline for the course and what we should expect for the semester, as he droned on about why we shouldn't slack off of any research given to us

Jason leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Do you think it's illegal to ogle your professor's ass?"

Maya snortled...loudly and everyone's eyes turned towards her, including the professor, who now had an eyebrow raised, 

Why did that action remind her of someone?

"Is there something funny in what I just explained?" The professor questioned, his tone firm.

"No." She squeaked out, watching as he inspected her.

"If you ever find the need to laugh in my class again, Miss-" He paused and she hurriedly answered, 

"Greenley."

He nodded, "I believe the performance theater is that way." Half the class chuckled at her expenses and she felt like dying.

Maya's cheeks heated in embarrassment ignoring Jason's apology and glared at Derek's teasing smile.

"Now," Professor Grey cleared his throat, tapping on the heavy folder on top of the lectern, "I'm aware that this is half the students that registered for this course and I did expect something like this, so-" He paused and Maya twisted her fingers together.

"I'll be giving you all a little project. I want you to be as truthful as possible, with no internet searches or anything of the sort. Trust me, I'll know." Almost everyone, including Jason, groaned, "Each of you will take a file and give honest feedback on whatever subject is given to you." 

Someone raised their hand and he gave a single nod, "Yes?"

"I know you said not to use the internet, but what if we're not familiar with the area given to us?" She cleared her throat before continuing, "Can we at least search for references?"

Collective murmurs circulated the halls and Maya found herself agreeing with the girl. 

Professor Grey nodded, his face scrunched in deep thought, "Alright, you can do that but I expect you all to quote your references."

That was easy.

Silence fell across the hall and his eyes skimmed over our faces, on seeing the unenthusiastic looks shared, he added, "This will also serve as five percent of your grades."

Maya's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets at his words and her mouth hung open, five percent was too much for an assignment that required them to use their brains for once, well she didn't have a problem with it but the same couldn't be said about the rest of the class,

"Five percent for an assignment is a literal death sentence, Professor." A girl from the front row pointed out and murmurs of agreement echoed around the hall.

However, the man simply smiled, "You have your references," He said and leaned forward, "yet you still have that little faith in yourselves?"

Everyone instantly fell silent and he smirked, Maya could've sworn she'd seen him do it before. 

A few moments of deliberative silence passed before some of the students nodded and murmured in approval and agreement, the rest of them remained silent.

"Very good," Grey said finally, nodding to himself. "You can come up here and pick a file each."

Derek sighed heavily, "Why do I have a feeling that he'll be worse than Davis."

"Grumpy bachelor," Jason replied.

"Whatever, let's get this over with," Maya grumbled and rose from her seat, Jason following suit with a smirk on his face.

As she walked towards the podium, she couldn't help the way her heart raced the closer she got to the professor. A redhead passed by her, clutching her own copy of the file to her chest, 

Once she was in his line of view, Maya noticed the scowl he sent her and she frowned.

Was he still offended by her actions earlier?

She thought of apologizing for laughing so loudly then decided against it, she crossed the first two steps and was about to climb the third when she tripped over the ceramic tile. Her legs gave out beneath her and her hand shot out to grab the desk and missed terribly, 

She closed her eyes instead, bracing for the impact of the ground but it never came, hands shout out to grab her carefully, one was wrapped over her waist and the other held her left arm tightly.

Maya slowly fluttered her eyes open, staring into the dark depths of the professor's eyes, even with the glasses on, they still shone with intensity and they were directed at her, 

His lips moved and she heard each word clearly, 

"You have a knack for tripping people over, Miss Greenley. Including yourself."

She frowned at his words, confused by what he meant when it suddenly hit her. Maya's memories from the previous night flooded back and she gasped.

His lips curled into a smirk and she could see his eyes dancing with dark amusement, 

The man she'd flipped over last night was him, he'd obviously not forgiven her for what she did and she still dared to giggle in his class?!

The sudden realization that this man was going to be her psychology professor for the rest of the semester hit her and she suddenly felt woozy. One thing was certain though,

Maya was officially screwed.